World briefs

KABUL – A roadside bomb killed four U.S. troops patrolling in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday in the deadliest single attack on international forces this year. An Afghan civilian working with the Americans also died.

The troops were patrolling with Afghan forces when their vehicle struck a bomb Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. military said in a statement. The military did not release the attack's location pending the notification of relatives.

LONDON – The British government says it won't publish minutes of top-level government meetings held prior to the Iraq war.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw says the government will block publication of minutes of Cabinet discussions held days before the Britain joined the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The documents could provide insight into one of the most controversial decisions by former Prime Minister Tony Blair. His participation in the war gravely diminished his popularity.

PARIS – A Paris appeals court on Tuesday overturned terror convictions for five former Guantanamo inmates, ruling that French intelligence officials improperly questioned them while in U.S. custody.

Arrested in Afghanistan in 2001, the men were interrogated at Guantanamo by French counterintelligence agents in 2002 and 2004. The court ruled that the French counterintelligence agency DST could not be both a spy agency and a judicial police service — the body that under French law is authorized to interrogate detainees.

JERUSALEM – United States aid for the Gaza Strip's reconstruction will likely top $900 million, an official said.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said Monday that Clinton will visit Israel and the West Bank during the first week of March. Clinton said during her Asia trip last week that she would attend an international donors conference in Egypt on March 2 to discuss reconstruction in Gaza.

The Obama administration's donation will be at least $900 million in humanitarian and rebuilding aid to the Palestinian Authority to help Gaza recover from Israel's offensive against Hamas last month.

BANGKOK – Thousands of protesters surrounded the prime minister's office Tuesday demanding Thailand's parliament be dissolved and new elections held, the latest challenge to the two-month old coalition government.

The rally by demonstrators allied with exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came three days before Thailand is to host the annual summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The crowd swelled to about 20,000 people as dusk approached, police said.